Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of headsman
Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman.
—
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Even if your reality is the headsman’s block!
—Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021
Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives.
—Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021
The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland.
—Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet.
—David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
-
Episode 3 ended with Ron, Eric Nam, Kristen Kish, and Caroline Stanbury all tied to trees and hilariously pleading for their lives while the Traitors and a masked executioner all just kind of stood there awkwardly.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
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Figures are unavailable for China, which keeps most executions secret but is widely believed to be the world’s leading executioner.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The classic effigy comes with a free hangman’s noose or lasso.—
Jack Handey,
New Yorker,
17 Nov. 2025
-
Eleven white men stood on the gallows with him—the hangman, the trigger-puller, officers of the law, the priest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Rubio, at fifty-four, is the policy’s unlikely executor.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Panish Shea & Boyle LLP of Los Angeles filed the lawsuit against Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn in their capacities as executors of the estate of Jeffrey Epstein and individual Ghislaine Maxwell.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
23 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Since arriving in the city in large numbers, ICE has arrested 2,400 people to date, including murderers and child rapists, Homan said.—
Anna Giaritelli,
The Washington Examiner,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Beyond the criteria of the Mattis decision, the Parole Board has let far too many criminals, including rapists and murderers, walk free in the past year.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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